Keep On Moving
by Count Krory
Summary: Three years after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war, Tahiri finds herself drifting. With no plans and no future, She needs to find a way to stop existing, and start living again. AU, no Swarm War
1. Five Years

A/N I do not own Star Wars. Obviously

XXXXX

Five years.

Tahiri stared at the bulkhead opposite her as she reclined bonelessly in her seat, trying not to think about it. About Him. Five years since it happened. Five years since he left her. Five years since he was taken from her. Taken from everyone. Five years since Anakin Solo had died.

Tahiri could feel a tear running down her cheek, and she angrily wiped it away. She closed her eyes and began to meditate. She didn't have time to feel sorry for herself; not at the moment. She had important work to do, and if this mission happened to fall on a day Tahiri felt the loss of Anakin especially keenly; that was just her bad luck.

Tahiri closed her eyes and reached out with the Force to settle her swirling emotions. She allowed the great cosmic energy to fill her, the familiar presence replacing her building sorrow with a sense of calm and fulfillment. She reached out to touch each member of the ships crew, taking comfort and delight in the mix of familiar and un familiar presences.

The captain, Tahiri's old friend Uldir Lochett, sat at the ship's controls. The _No Luck Required_ was his; and Uldir's insistence that he and his crew be the ones to accompany Tahiri on this mission had touched her. Uldir's first mate, a no nonsense woman named Vega Sepen, was in the ship's kitchenette, idly munching on some sort of food bar. Tahiri could tell that the Correllian was psyching herself up for the mission. The Dug, Leaft, and Vook Gehu, a Duro, were in the ship's armory checking blasters and packing assault webbing with whatever the pair thought might be needed.

Tahiri felt a gentle prod in the Force, and felt her lips quirk into a smile. She focused her attention on the final member of Uldir's crew, Klin-Fa Gi. Returning her fellow Jedi knight's Force delivered concern, Tahiri sent an answering pulse, assuring Klin-Fa that she was fine. The concern was appreciated, and having another Jedi along for the ride filled Tahiri with a sense of relief. She was accustomed to pursuing these types of missions with only her usual team, or in a worst case scenario, with Wraith Squadron, so not having to be the only Jedi had lifted a weight from Tahiri's shoulders that she had never noticed until was gone. It felt good to be working with the Order again, even if only barely.

Tahiri decided that after the mission was over, she would slow down and spend more time with her fellow Jedi. She knew that a lot of her friends were worried about her. Master Luke had said as much when she stopped by Ossus to discuss the mission, and she had felt the concern radiating from several of the Jedi as she walked the temple grounds. Many of the older Jedi were a little afraid of her, Tahiri knew. The Jedi-Who-Was-Shaped.

Tahiri thought about what she was. Captured early in the Yuuzhan Vong war, Tahiri had been given to a shaper, the Yuuzhan Vong version of a scientist, that she might reveal the mysteries of the Jedi to the invaders. She had endured weeks of torture, and finally, an attempt to erase her personality and replace it with a Yuuzhan Vong one. Anakin had saved her, but the damage had been done, and Riina Kwaad, the implanted personality, had lurked in the depths of Tahiri's mind, biding her time and waiting for an opportunity. Anakin's death had provided it. Tahiri had been broken, and Riina jumped at the chance to take over. Tahiri had fought, and fought hard, but Riina had been too strong. Neither could gain control, and finally a deal had been made. The warring personalities merged, creating a being that was mostly Tahiri Veila, but with enough of Riina in her that others could see the changes.

Tahiri was harder than before. She smiled less, slept less, and worked harder. Riina had given her the experience of a Yuuzhan Vong life she had never actually led, and her mastery of the Yuuzhan Vong language and her absolute understanding of their culture had made her the New Republic's foremost expert on the species. She had spent almost the entirety of her life post war on Yuuzhan Vong related missions for the Republic, and, she realized, had been neglecting her responsibilities to the Order. Yes, she thought, this would be her last mission for a while. But then, she had told herself that before her last mission. And the one before that.

Tahiri withdrew herself from the Force and focused on the part of herself that was Yuuzhan Vong. This cut her off from the Force, but allowed her access to her Vongsense. This ability to access the 'Vong side' of the Force was the final skill that made her so good at hunting the rebel Yuuzhan Vong. She could sense them, just as she could sense all other life forms with the Force. She was one of only two Jedi who could do it, and Jacen Solo was currently galavanting across the galaxy on a journey of personal discovery.

Reaching out with her Vongsense, Tahiri found the only other living being on board the ship. Mar Rin was a young shaper, almost as young as Tahiri, and had been Tahiri's teammate and friend since the first mission Tahiri had accepted after the war. Mar Rin was on of the few Yuuzhan Vong who had shunned settling on Zonama Sekot, explaining that she felt that the Yuuzhan Vong had a duty to clean up the mess they had made, and had thrown herself into the task with such enthusiasm and cheer that Tahiri knew that many people who had met Mar Rin thought she was slightly mad. Tahiri liked her; she was genuine, and perhaps the friendliest Yuuzhan Vong in the galaxy. She reminded Tahiri of herself before she had been shaped, and she let Tahiri know that being part Yuuzhan Vong did not make her a pain worshiping sadist.

"Hey Tahiri, you ok?" A voice pierced Tahiri's trance, startling her and causing her to jump.

Opening her eyes, Tahiri gazed upon the concerned faces of Uldir and Klin-Fa looking down on her. She exhaled and smiled at the pair. "Yes. I'm fine you guys. Why did you think I wasn't?"

"You vanished from the Force." Klin-Fa said, her eyes boring into Tahiri's. "I was worried you had knocked yourself unconscious, or..." She trailed off, obviously unsure if her suspicion would offend Tahiri.

"If I was gonna kill myself, I'd have done it by now," Tahiri said, a wry smile on her lips. "I was using my Vongsense. It cuts me off from the Force."

"Of course. I'd forgotten you could do that." Klin-Fa nodded, clearly embarrassed by her assumption.

"Well, anyway." Uldir started, breaking through the awkward silence that was forming. "Real-space in thirty minutes. I'm calling a conference to finalize the mission plan." He spun on his heels and headed towards the door, pausing briefly to gesture that the pair of Jedi should follow him.

After Uldir had left, Klin-Fa rounded on Tahiri. "Tahiri, I..."

"Klin-Fa, it's fine." Tahiri cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I know what most of the Jedi say about me. That I'm dangerous. That I'm on the edge. That I could snap and succumb to my barbaric Yuuzhan Vong instincts and start killing Jedi at any time." She punctuated her statements with spooky fingers gestures, causing Klin-Fa to giggle.

"It's nonsense of course. I'm as in control as any other Jedi." Tahiri said.

"Probably more." Klin-Fa replied. "I've pulled myself back from the brink as well. It has a way of getting you focused on what matters."

Tahiri nodded. She stood and walked to Klin-Fa, slapping her on the back as she passed. "It does indeed." she said, smiling at the older woman. "Let's us dangerous ladies on the edge stick together. I can always use more friends. Force knows I have few enough these days."

"I'd like that Tahiri." Klin-Fa said, returning the smile. "Although I'm not sure I'd consider a tiny little girl like you edgy or dangerous."

Laughing at the indignant expression on Tahiri's face, Klin-Fa bolted out of the room. Tahiri huffed to herself, but soon smiled again. Teasing was what friends did. It was a step in the right direction. A step towards finally getting her life back to normal, or at least as normal as she imagined it had been before the war.

XXXXX

The assault squad, such as it was, were crowded around the holo-display in the _No Luck Required's_ lounge.

"Alright ladies and gentle-beings, here's what we're up against." Uldir said, pulling up a holo of a bizarre looking ship. "This is the... I can't pronounce this." He gestured at the Aurebesh rendering of the Yuuzhan Vong ship's name.

"Zhharebalksh." Tahiri supplied dryly, raising an eyebrow in Uldir's direction as his crew snickered.

"Yeah, that." He said, dismissing his embarrassment with a wave of his hand. "That mean anything? Something that won't cause my throat to defect to the Imperial Remnant?"

"Final Hope will do in a pinch." Tahiri said, shaking her head.

"Right. Anyway," Uldir said, dragging the meeting back on track, "The Final Hope here launched from Coruscant shortly after the Yuuzhan Vong captured it, so It's been out here about five years. Our intel suggests it is some kind of secret Shaper project ship, explaining the unusual shape. Even for a Yuuzhan Vong ship."

Though far more familiar with Yuuzhan Vong ship styles than anyone else present, Tahiri had to agree with the assessment. The Final Hope looked less a starship than a shaper damutek expanded to a truly ridiculous size and lined with dovin bassals to provide thrust. It did not look like it could possibly be well armed. Thus, Tahiri supposed, the hiding.

"As far as we know, there are no external weapons on this thing, so docking and getting on board shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, that's where the intel ends. We have no idea what's on board this thing, so we need to be prepared for anything." Uldir jerked his in Tahiri's direction. "You and Mar Rin are the experts here. Any ideas about what might be in there.?"

"It's definitely a research vessel." Mar Rin said, nodding as she studied the holo. Her Yuuzhan Vong accent had faded to almost nothing over the time Tahiri had known her, and usually guttural, harsh pronounciation of a Yuuzhan Vong speaking basic had given way to a throaty, flowing speech. Hearing it pleased Tahiri. She could tell that simply hearing that new accent was setting Uldir's crew more at ease.

"I do not imagine that there are a great many warriors aboard. No more than a cadre." Mar Rin continued, "Shapers and warriors do not get along so well, you see."

"I agree." Tahiri said. "Most of that ship has probably been given over to shaper labs, or perhaps a single large lab and an extensive slave quarters."

"Why would they need so many slaves if their aren't that many Vong aboard?" Vega asked.

"Yuuzhan Vong." Tahiri corrected absently.

Vega rolled her eyes at Tahiri's almost unconscious correction, and Leaft and Vook chuckled.

"Test subjects." Mar Rin said, addressing Vega's question. "The shapers need something to experiment on."

The atmosphere of the briefing room sobered quickly.

"Great." Uldir said. "I was hoping we could assume that the prisoners would be able to leave under their own power. Guess that's blown."

He frowned, and his eyebrows furrowed in thought. The room was silent for several moments while the team tried to come up with the potential solution for their new potential problem. Klin-Fa broke the silence.

"Why not use our hover pallets? We have several, and we could probably load ten or fifteen people on each one." She said.

"Good idea." Vega nodded. "If we've got more than one hundred immobile prisoners to deal with, we're not getting out of there anyway."

Tahiri frowned at Vega's statement. She was correct of course; the seven of them would never be able to move hundreds of invalids themselves, especially if they had to dodge thud bugs the whole way. Not to mention that a key part of the mission was to dismantle the shaper labs, which they would not have time to do correctly if they were playing ambulance. Still, Tahiri's Jedi instincts balked at the thought of leaving innocents behind.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." she said.

"Tahiri's right. No need to get down on ourselves over something that is improbable at best." Uldir said, nodding in agreement with the Jedi. "Better to concentrate on the things we can control. Like our insertion point."

"That is the easy part." Mar Rin said. "Most Yuuzhan Vong buildings are the same on the inside, and since this ship looks to just be an oversized damutek, we can predict the hallway layout."

"Should be straightforward enough." Tahiri agreed. "We go in in the center, and split into two teams, sweep fore and aft, and rejoin after we're done."

"The slaves will be kept opposite the shaper labs." Mar Rin added. "One team will sweep the lab, the other will head for the slaves."

Uldir and his crew stared at the pair. "Sounds like you guys have this all worked out." Uldir said, slightly agape at how quickly the two women had formed the plan.

"We've... done this a few times." Tahiri admitted. "Not on a spaceship, but We've spent the last three years storming Yuuzhan Vong bases. We're used to it." She looked at Uldir's crew helplessly, the crinkling of her brows making the triple line scar on her forehead stick out prominently. "We ARE the experts the New Republic sent out here you know."

Uldir waved his hand in defeat. "I know, I know. Guess I'm not used to little Tahiri forming battle plans at the drop of a hat." he said.

"Well, 'little Tahiri' spent some of the war with Wraith Squadron, so she picked up a few things." Tahiri said with a smile that did not quite meet her eyes. "Anyone object to the plan?"

Silence met her question. "Great!" She said, clapping her hands together. "Looks like ten minutes to real space reversion. Make your final preparations and meet me in the airlock."

Tahiri spun on her heels and sauntered out of the meeting room. She could feel that the crew were wondering what they had done to irritate her. She laughed softly to herself. She really had spent too much time with the Wraiths. Messing with people beneath the dignity of a Yuuzhan Vong warrior, and not encouraged by the Jedi code, but Tahiri enjoyed it too much to stop. It never seemed to bother the Solos or master Jade-Skywalker either. She would apologize before the mission launched. Bursting that bubble of artificially created tension would make the crew nice and relaxed for the mission. _Thanks Face_ , Tahiri thought as she returned to her quarters to grab her battle belt. _Guess learning all that psychology wasn't a waste of time._

XXXXX

Uldir's crew, plus Tahiri and Mar Rin, were flanking the airlock exit, waiting for the connection to finalize so they could storm the Yuuzhan Vong ship. Docking had been as easy as Tahiri and Mar Rin had predicted, so Uldir was feeling confident with the mission plan so far. He looked at his old friend.

Tahiri's trick on his crew had surprised him. The girl Uldir had know had been so guileless he would have put credits on her being the worst lier in the galaxy, so her casual manipulation of his crew's emotions had taken him back. She seemed so different now. He supposed that it really was not big things; people who did not know her well would probably just see the friendly, bubbly girl she had always been. Uldir knew better. He was no Jedi, but he could see the reserve she now had when dealing with people, the hardness in her eyes when she spoke of certain things, the sadness she seemed to radiate when she thought no one was looking.

It had been ten years since Uldir had med Tahiri, and before this mission, it had been about six years since he had seen her. Those years had not been kind. Tahiri has spent her most formative years in a war, and the personal cost of that war for her had been, in Uldir's opinion, excessively high. Her mind had been broken, her best friend had been killed right in front of her, and her torture had resulted in the vast majority of her peers treating her with suspicion and fear. Uldir had been glad that Klin-Fa and Tahiri had taken to one another. He wanted Tahiri to make more friends. She just seemed so lonely when they met again. She had comrades, the Wraiths, the Jedi who trusted her, but her only friend besides himself seemed to be Mar Rin. She was still, on the whole, kind, happy, and a bit silly, but she had an edge now. Uldir supposed that was inevitable; you can not shatter and be rebuilt without cracks.

"Hey! Boss man. Final orders?"

Uldir shook himself from his thoughts and looked at the speaker, Vega. "Right. Mar Rin, you're going for the shaper labs. How much back up will you need?"

"Two only. No _Jeedai_." Mar Rin bit out, clearly in the process of psyching herself up for the operation.

"Why no Jedi?" Uldir asked, confused.

"These Yuuzhan Vong are fanatics." Mar Rin said. "They are going to be aggressive no matter who goes, but I would like to avoid dealing with shapers and their guards in a frothing, suicidal rage."

Uldir nodded in agreement. He pointed to Vook and Vega. "You two with Mar Rin. Leaft, stay here and guard the extraction point."

"Leave it to the captain to assign the two beautiful women to his own team." Leaft grumbled. Uldir could tell he was not actually upset though, his smile gave him away.

"Hey, are not Vega and I beautiful women?" Mar Rin teased, shifting her shoulders to emphasize her bust. Vega laughed at the gesture. Combat suits were not flattering garments in the best of times, and the effect of Mar Rin's gesture was a far cry from the alluring pin up she was trying to imitate; she just looked inflated.

"Mar Rin, the only being you're going to attract like that is a hutt." Tahiri laughed, lightly punching the pushed out combat plates, lightly rocking Mar Rin back on her heels and causing the armor to pop back into place.

Mar Rin grunted and rubbed her chest. She shot Tahiri an irritated look, but Tahiri just rolled her eyes. A chime sounded from the door.

"Alright people, let's move out! We have slaves to free." Uldir said, and hit the switch open the airlock. The door swung open, and the team filed out, ready for anything. They thought.

XXXXX

"I can't imagine there are too many warriors aboard. It shouldn't be a problem." Uldir snarled in a mocking approximation of Mar Rin's accent. He began to speak again, but was cut off by another round of thud bugs impacting against the doorframe he was crouched behind.

Kin-Fa, unable to sense the Yuuzhan Vong or their biotech in the Force, was taking cover on the other side of the doorframe, taking shots with her blaster in between thud bug salvos. Tahiri, who _could_ sense the bugs, was deflecting as many as she could with her lightsaber, trying desperately to give her comrades an opening.

"Now now, you had the same intel we did. It's not Mar Rin's fault it was bad." Tahiri said, her voice almost impossibly calm for the wild motions she was making to keep ahead of the thud bugs.

A fierce smile was plastered across Tahiri's face, and she could feel her adrenalin pumping as her pleasure with finally finding a battle grew. This, she knew, was why so many other Jedi were afraid of her. She did not lust for battle, but once engaged in one, she could not stop herself from enjoying it. She fought with the calm calculation of a Jedi, but with the ferociousness of a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. To many Jedi, she appeared wild and uncontrolled. She knew she was in control, and she had found over the years that she did not care if other Jedi were comfortable with her fighting style. If they did not like it, they could leave her alone. She fought to win. Every time.

"There certainly are a lot of them." Klin-Fa said, leaning around the doorframe and dropping a warrior with force enhanced accuracy.

"Hopefully this means the others have a clear shot to the shapers." Tahiri said. She released her two handed grip on her lightsaber and drew her blaster. As much as she enjoyed the blocking practice, her patience did have limits.

Drawing deeper of the force, Tahiri let her reflexes take over her defense and joined the others in picking the warriors off. The enemy were numerous, but they were hardly elites, and Tahiri had fought the best the old Yuuzhan Vong regime had to offer and won. This mediocre remnant never had a chance.

After what felt like an eternity to Uldir and Klin-Fa, the last of the wall of resistance finally fell.

"Ugh. Finally!" Tahiri said, holstering her blaster and deactivating her lightsaber. "I like a fight as much as the next girl, but if they aren't going to offer a decent one, I wish the wouldn't even bother!"

Uldir grinned at Tahiri's huffy reaction to, what had been to him, a life or death struggle. He looked over to Klin-Fa and caught her eye. He could see that Tahiri's fellow Jedi did not share her blasé attitude towards mortal peril. He nodded in Tahiri's direction, smiled, and shook his head. Klin-Fa laughed and stood from her crouch, holstering her blaster but keeping her lightsaber to hand; Klin-Fa may have felt that the danger was past for the moment, but she was not so certain that she was willing to go completely unarmed.

"Well, I hope that was the bulk of them. If we have to have a fight like that at every junction, It's gonna take us a month to clear this ship, and I don't have enough blaster packs for that." Said Uldir.

Tahiri pulled out her comlink. "Mar Rin, we just ran into a blockade of about fifty warriors. You guys hitting anything like that?"

Uldir and Klin-Fa waited while Tahiri conferred with the other team. The conversation shifted to Yuuzhan Vong as Tahiri grew more intense and began speaking faster. The pair watched the emotions play across Tahiri's face: First confusion, then excitement, then shock and anger. Tahiri barked out a final order in Yuuzhan Vong, then terminated the comm call. She spun to her companions.

"Did you hear that?" She almost shouted, her expression finally settling into one of excitement.

Klin-Fa and Uldir shared an amused look. "Yeah." Uldir said, "But we didn't understand a bit of it. Care to fill us in?"

A blush crawled across Tahiri's cheeks. "Of... of course." She stuttered out, embarrassment coloring her speech. "Mar Rin and the others encountered light resistance, but the cleared it without much trouble. Her real news is that the warriors they fought were guarding a shaper."

Uldir let out a low whistle. "Damn. That oughta make clearing out this ship way easier. What have they gotten out of him?"

The trio proceeded down the corridor as they spoke. Tahiri sighed before she answered. "Not much, unfortunately. Mar Rin found out that the warriors we fought were the last of them, and that the prisoners were still alive, but the shaper caught on that she wasn't a 'true believer' and committed suicide."

"At least we've a clear shot at the prisoners." Klin-Fa said. She was met with nods of agreement from Uldir and Tahiri. All three were tired of fighting Yuuzhan Vong.

"There was one other thing. " Tahiri said. "Before the shaper killed himself, he let slip that there was a single prisoner being held in the lab, and they had been experimenting on them for years."

Uldir and Klin-Fa winced in sympathy for the unfortunate sentient. Being subjected to Yuuzhan Vong experimentation was a fate worse than death. Enduring it for years would break anyone. Tahiri feared that all they would find in that prisoner was a madman.

"Well, let's go bust open the main slave quarters, and we'll meet up with the others back at the ship." Uldir said, jerking his head down the hall. Both women nodded, and the trio set off at a jog, eager to help the soon to be free sentients get back to their lives.

XXXXX

Uldir tapped the wall pad, and the door to the slave quarters slid open. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and stepped into the room, fearing what he might find. His eyebrows raised and his face twisted into an expression of disbelief in the sight that greeted him.

"Huh."

Tahiri and Klin-Fa both hurried to the door, curious about what could have surprised Uldir without provoking a reaction of disgust or horror. The pair pushed past him, hands dropping to their lightsabers. Neither woman felt any danger in the force, but they had learned that a mild amount of paranoia usually kept them alive.

What met the sight of the two young Jedi was a scene not out of place on a New Republic military base. A large recreation area, complete with smashball court, swimming pools, and extensive gym equipment, took up most of the room, with a leisure area, with couches and a holo-projector accounting for the rest of the visible space. Two doors, denoting male and female barracks lay across the large room from the entrance.

Most surprising to the three liberators, however, were the three dozen people utilizing said equipment. All had stopped what they were doing to stare at the three in the door.

Tahiri broke the silence.

"Uhh... You're the prisoners, right?" She asked, allowing her confusion to play across her face.

The occupants of the cell all continued to silently stare at Tahiri until an older human male, presumably the one chosen by the group to deal with their Yuuzhan Vong captors stepped forward.

"We are prisoners, yes." he said, his thick Corellian accent undermining the responsibility of his duty. A ghost of a smile flashed briefly across his face. "But we knew that. The real question is, who are you? You are pretty short for a Vong."

"Yuuzhan Vong." Tahiri corrected absently, causing Klin-Fa and Uldir to smile and enter the room fully as well.

"My name is Uldir Lochett." Said Uldir, stepping up to the older man and offering his hand, "These are my associates Tahiri Veila and Klin-Fa Gi. We're here to rescue you guys. Although..." He looked around the 'cell,' " It looks like you might not want to go."

This last statement sent a ripple of laughter through the prisoners who were able to hear it.

"No, no." Said the older man, "We're quite ready to leave. A gilded cage is still a cage after all." He turned to his fellow prisoners. "Well ladies and gentle-beings, it looks like we're going home!" he bellowed, rousing a great cheer from the inmates. "That's what I thought. Grab your gear, we're moving out!"

Tahiri watched with a smile as the prisoners scampered for the sleeping quarters, eager to get their possessions and leave their prison behind. She turned to the older man, who, seeming alone amongst the prisoners, had not moved.

"Guess you're the leader then?" She said to him. He smiled at her and nodded.

"I suppose I am. The name's Kaffis Kosigan. Pleasure to meet such a lovely lady." He winked, drawing a snort from Tahiri.

"Careful old man. What would your wife say?" She said, half watching Uldir and Klin-Fa wander off to see if they could 'rescue' some of the gym equipment for their ship. Kaffis let out a deep laugh.

"How did you know I was married?" he asked. Tahiri raised an eyebrow and pointed to his hand. Kaffis held it up to look at the ring he was wearing. "Ah. Yes. Well... how do you know Sunny wouldn't be up for lending me a hand?"

Tahiri shot Kaffis a withering look. "Oooooookay, this went from fun to creepy in a nanosecond..." she said. She gestured towards the room. "How did you guys get all this stuff? I've been a Yuuzhan Vong prisoner. Comfort is not high on their list for POWs."

Kaffis' face immediately grew a bit somber. "No, it isn't. We were treated as you're thinking for a long time. This," He gestured to the comforts of the holding cell, "Only came in the last year or so. Not really sure how long we've been here, to be honest."

"What could have possibly caused the Yuuzhan Vong to give you all of this though?" Tahiri pressed.

Kaffis, seemingly despite himself, grinned a bit. "Blackmail." he said matter of factly.

"Who could possibly blackmail a Yuuzhan Vong?" Klin-Fa said as she walked back towards the pair.

"I don't know his name," Kaffis admitted, "He was a prisoner like us, except for the first couple years he was here, he was in a coma. We don't know why, but their scientists were studying the guy. They would haul him in and out of the prison, running tests. We got the usual torture and slavery routine, but about two years ago, the guy woke up. He was incoherent for a couple of months, but once he got his feet under him, he started running. He did everything. Fought the guards, made escape attempts, incited the other prisoners to join him. And we did."

"All that and he never told you his name?" Tahiri said, doubt lacing her words.

"He said it wasn't important. That he was nobody. We mostly just called him Boss. That guy lit a fire in us, you see?" Kaffis said, gesturing to the room around him. "We had totally given up. We figured we would rot here until the Vong,"

"Yuuzhan Vong." Tahiri cut him off again.

Kaffis gave Tahiri an odd look. "Ok, fine. Until the Yuuzhan Vong got tired of us and killed us for their own amusement or whatever." he finished.

"Well, what happened to this 'boss'"? Klin-Fa interjected.

Kaffis grimaced. "About six months ago, the scientist guys came in and hauled him off like usual, but they never brought him back. A week or so later, the guards started bringing us this stuff. We tried to ask why, but they don't speak basic and none of us learned to speak much... Yuuzhan Vong. Eventually, we figured that the Boss was protecting us. He was cooperating, and our well being is the guarantee of his good behavior. I can't think of any other reason the... Yuuzhan Vong would give us stuff. Or stop torturing us."

"Sounds like a cool guy." Uldir said, approaching the trio with the prisoner's smashball in his hands. "Hope he's still alive."

Tahiri and Klin-Fa both felt the distress that Uldir's comment caused to shoot through Kaffis. Klin-Fa glared at Uldir. "Uldir. Behave." She said, her tone carrying a threat that Uldir definitely did not want carried out.

Uldir raised his hands in surrender, dropping the smashball. The group all looked at the ball and then back at Uldir, who sheepishly bent and retrieved it. "Reflex." He muttered, refusing to look at anyone. Kaffis and Klin-Fa laughed, and Tahiri smiled, feeling the surge in Kaffis' emotions fade.

"If this 'Boss' is still on the ship, I'm sure Mar Rin and the others will find him. That's the rest of our team." She directed the last bit at Kaffis. "They are sweeping the Damutek, so if the Shaper's were keeping anyone over there, They shouldn't have any trouble getting them out."

A rumble rolled through the ship, causing Uldir and the prisoners to fall. Tahiri, Klin-Fa, and surprisingly Kaffis kept their feet. Tahiri gave the man a questioning look, but quickly pulled out her comlink to contact the second team.

"Mar Rin. Are you there? What was that?" She listened to the comm for a moment, then turned to her audience. "Booby trap. It sounds like they found your boss, but the Embrace of Pain he was attached to had a dead man switch. When they pulled him off, the lab started to self destruct."

"Sounds like we better hurry then." Kaffis said.

"Probably wise." Uldir agreed.

Kaffis turned to the mass of prisoners milling around the cell bloc. "Ok people! Timetable's been moved up! The ship is coming apart! Move it!" He shouted, and Tahiri's eyes went wide as she felt the force suggestion lacing the command.

Klin-Fa and Uldir exited the room, leading the orderly stampede back towards the _No Luck Required_. Kaffis brought up the rear, and Tahiri hang back with him. "You're a Jedi." She stated bluntly. Kaffis grinned at her.

"No. Not every force sensitive being in the galaxy rushed to Skywalker's academy, you know." He said.

"I figured I would do more good where I was. Plus, the money was way better."

Tahiri laughed despite herself. "Suppose I can't argue with that. Master Skywalker will want to talk to you when we get to Denon though."

"Damn. I've been dodging that kid for twenty years. Figures the Vong would catch me both ways."

Kaffis said, sighing in resignation.

"Yuuzhan Vong." Tahiri corrected absently.

"Are you even aware you're doing that?" Kaffis asked her.

"Doing what?" Tahiri asked with exaggerated innocence. Kaffis rolled his eyes and shook his head, causing Tahiri's facade to collapse into a fit of giggles.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Kaffis said.

"Why have you avoided Master Skywalker?" Tahiri asked after she had finished calming herself.

"Wasn't on purpose at first. I had dealings with the Rebellion, but my crew and I were mercs, we never joined up. I spent most of my time on the opposite side of the galaxy from the kid. Once he started recruiting for his Jedi academy, I had a family and stiff to take care of. I couldn't just drop everything to go be a Jedi. I started dodging the Jedi so nobody would try to recruit me." He said with a shrug.

"Well, the Jedi aren't what they were during the Old Republic. You're family is welcome to come with you to Ossus." Takiri said.

Kaffis smiled sadly. "I don't even know where they are. I've spent most of my adult life ducking the Force. Inquisitors, Jedi, whatever. But I've been around long enough to know my bantha's been cooked here. I'll talk to Skywalker. It's not like I'll ever get back what I had before the war anyway."

Tahiri's heart went out to the man. He had lost almost everything to the Yuuzhan Vong. Most of the prisoner they were rescuing probably had. Tahiri hated knowing that most of these prisoner thought they were returning to a life that no longer existed for them.

"We have resources, you know." Tahiri said. "We can help you find you family."

Kaffis smiled at her. "You can try. My Sunny, if she don't want to be found, She won't be found."

"Pfft. Corellians." Tahiri huffed. "Always think that just because YOU can't do something, it's impossible."

"Well, you know, statistically, that's true." Kaffis said, smirking.

"Oh, Corran's gonna love you." Tahiri shot back.

"I am not aware of this 'Corran' you speak of. I assume he's Corellian?"

"Very." Tahiri confirmed. She looked ahead and her eyes widened briefly. "Oh! Banter is fun, but we need to catch up with the others. We're almost at the ship."

Kaffis nodded and the two increased their pace to a brisk trot so as to close the gap that had formed between them and the rest of the rescue-es. The pair caught the group, and Tahiri moved to Klin-Fa and Uldir so the trio could begin the arduous task of loading the prisoners onto their ship. Occasionally, they heard a bang or felt a tremor, reminding them that the Yuuzhan Vong ship was, in fact, coming apart, and if they wanted to live, everybody involved had best get a move on.

Tahiri glanced at her chronometer and frowned. She pulled out her com link and thumbed that activation switch. "Mar Rin. Where are you guys? It feels like the self-destruct is accelerating." She waited for a reply, but the only sound that emerged from her comm was an intermittent static.

"Sithspit! Something's blocking the comms!" Tahiri shouted the her compatriots. "Can either of you get the shaper quarters team?"

Uldir and Klin-Fa both tried their comms, but they were also met with nothing but static. Tahiri was about to suggest she go looking for their wayward crew members, but as she was taking her first steps down the corridor Leaft came careening around the corner. She watched as the Dug bolted past her and into the airlock, dodging the last few prisoners waiting to get on board. Tahiri laughed despite herself. Nothing about the situation was funny, but watching a Dug run certainly was; it was not a species adapted for ground speed. Mar Rin came around the corner next.

"Tahiri Veila! Come quickly and help! The prisoner is surprisingly heavy!" She called, slowing to a stop as she panted, trying to catch her breath. Tahiri surged forward as Vook and Vega finally came around the corner, a man draped over their shoulders, the way his feet were dragging confirmed he was unconscious. As she approached, she assessed the man's condition: He was shirtless, his exposed torso revealing a ludicrous amount of Yuuzhan Vong warrior tattooing and scarring. He was surprisingly well muscled and was intermittently twitching; Tahiri supposed that both of these were side effects of being in an Embrace of Pain for six continuous months. The man's long hair hung limply over his drooping head, concealing his face, but Tahiri could see tell-tale signs of more scarring creeping up his neck. As he was unconscious, she could not sense him in the Force, but the way he was being carried showed her that he could not be too badly hurt.

Tahiri reached the trio of beings and hauled the unconscious man into a fireman's carry, relieving the obviously exhausted Vega and Vook of the surprisingly heavy burden. Refreshed, the two nodded their thanks and took off for the air lock, now clear of the last of the prisoners. Uldir and Klin-Fa had bolted inside to start the ship.

Using the Force to reenforce her not inconsiderable strength, Tahiri hoisted the man further and ran for the air lock herself. The tremors of the dying ship had become a non stop rumble, and it felt as if the deck beneath her feet was coming away as she sprinted the final few meters to safety.

Inside the air lock, Tahiri used the Force to slam the hatch shut behind her, and bounded across the docking tube clearing the weightless corridor in one Force assisted leap. She hit hard in the artificial gravity of the _No Luck Required,_ her knees nearly buckling from the impact. She staggered, but managed to keep her balance and continue her forward progression, again using the Force to close the hatch behind her.

Vega, seeing Tahiri's grand entrance, activated her com link and told Uldir to separate. Tahiri felt the subtle wobble of the ship as Uldir retracted the docking tube. Breathing out a sigh of relief, she headed towards the crew lounge, eager to set the unconscious prisoner down.

XXXXX

The door slid open, giving Tahiri access to the lounge. She made a bee line for the large crash couch, giving a silent nod to Klin-Fa, the only other occupant of the room; Uldir and Vega were piloting the ship, Leaft was securing the team's equipment, and Vook and Mar Rin were seeing to the prisoners.

Tahiri thought that Mar Rin should have stayed away, but the girl had insisted. Sometimes Tahiri forgot how young Mar Rin was; a certain amount of stubbornness was to be expected. But then, Tahiri forgot how young she was too. Even if she only lived her average lifespan, she could expect ninety to one hundred more years of life. She wondered when she began to feel so old.

One thing that would make her feel younger was getting the fairly heavy man off her back. Reaching the couch, she carefully deposited the man on it, laying him on his back, and sweeping the tangled mass of hair out of his face.

She froze. Tahiri's mouth dropped open and her eyes bulged. She could feel the blood drain from her face. She took a step back, but she was trembling so badly that the movement caused her to collapse.

Klin-Fa ran to her, kneeling beside her friend. "Force Tahiri! Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Tahiri, tears now slowly trailing down her cheeks, raised a shaky hand and pointed to the crash couch. Klin-Fa turned to look at the man lying there. Recognition flooded her eyes. Every Jedi in the galaxy would have recognized the man on the couch. She engulfed Tahiri in a hug, whispering to her, trying desperately to calm her down.

Laid out on the crash couch, resting fitfully, face unmarred by the scarring and tattoos that had otherwise engulfed every visible centimeter of skin above his wrists, was a man the galaxy thought long dead. A man praised as a hero.

Anakin Solo.


	2. One Night in Medbay

A/N: Soooooo... Been a while. What can I say, the state of the country put me off being creative. The Last Jedi pulled my muse back, so here we are.

I don't own Star Wars. I'd have sold it to the Mouse by now.

* * *

Tahiri sat on her bunk, knees hugged to her chest, staring at the wall. She was drawing long, ragged breaths, and her eyes appeared haunted. Her whole demeanor being one of a person on the edge of a breakdown. It was not far from the truth. Tahiri Veila, Jedi Knight, was on the verge of completely losing control of her emotions.

Her poor control shamed her. She prided herself on her ability to remain unaffected; to be the calmest, most collected member of any team she was a part of. She had worked hard for it. To master the hot rage and vicious joy of the Yuuzhan Vong side of her brain; to temper it with the serenity of the Jedi. She knew she would never be a Jedi master. She was talented, yes, but her talents leaned in far too violent a direction for her to ever be accepted as an elite; Even the greatest warriors of the Jedi order possessed innumerable other skills with the Force. If it could not be used to hurt someone, Tahiri was not much good at it.

Tahiri was well aware that the only reason most of the order did not think she was a dark Jedi was her mastery of her emotions. She did not simply appear cool, calm, and collected at all times, she was. The years she had spent making peace with herself and her circumstances were her greatest pride. She had even reached a point where the bubbly friendliness of her youth had mostly returned in earnest; she almost never had to fake it anymore. Even Master Skywalker was impressed with what she had accomplished: He had asked Tahiri to come speak at the Academy about emotional mastery when she could spare the time! So why was she, the Order's rock, desperately fighting a breakdown like a weepy teenager in a holodrama?

There was only one thing, she knew, that could do this to her. Only one thing that ever could. The reason she had gained that emotional control in the first place. Anakin. Her best friend. Her first love. The single great loss of her life. The man who inexplicably appeared to be sleeping on the other side of the ship.

It was impossible. Anakin was dead. She felt him die. She saw his corpse. She saw the way it tore his family up. He could not still be alive. He could not. That was not the way her life worked. It took things away from her, and she grew stronger. She did not get things back.

As she brooded, Tahiri became vaguely aware that someone was standing in the door of her cabin. She reached out with the Force, not yet willing to move from her angst cocoon.

"What do you want, Klin-Fa?" Tahiri bit out, her desire to be left alone explicit in her tone of voice.

Klin-Fa Gi did not react to Tahiri's hostility, save to shoot the slightly younger woman a brief withering look.

"Mar Rin says that Anakin-"

"That _thing_ is not Anakin!" Tahiri interrupted viciously, her reply close to a snarl.

"Fine. Mar Rin says that that guy will probably wake up soon. I just wanted to let you know, in case you wanted to be there, get some answers." Klin-Fa finished, trying her best to keep irritation out of her voice. She was willing to put up with a bit of attitude from Tahiri, in light of the shock she had received, but the last day of surly behavior out of the girl was grinding on her nerves. Unlike Tahiri, Klin-Fa was not an expert in controlling her emotions.

"I don't ever want to look at that abomination again." Tahiri ground out.

Klin-Fa sighed. "Look, it's another four days to Ossus. You're stuck on the ship with him anyway. Just come. Maybe you can get some closure." she said.

Truthfully, Klin-Fa was worried about Tahiri. The instant she had seen the face of the rescued captive, she had retreated within herself, becoming sullen and impossible to deal with.

"I had closure. Anakin is dead. I made my peace with that. Whatever the Yuuzhan Vong did to make that thing is an insult to his memory." Tahiri spat, but began to unfold herself even as she said it. She scooted to the side of her bunk and stood, making a long feline stretch and wincing slightly as she heard her back and shoulders pop. She had been sitting there for longer than she thought.

Tahiri made for the door, but was blocked by the now smiling Klin-Fa.

"So you ARE curious!" Klin-Fa said, a slightly evil smirk creeping across her face. Tahiri colored briefly.

"Shut up. Lets go before I change my mind."

"What changed your mind just now?" Klin-Fa asked.

"I've moped in here long enough. Now I want to know why that thing exists." Tahiri looked the taller woman in the eye. "Hopefully it knows."

* * *

Mar Rin looked down at the slumbering form of her patient. The man had shifted from unconsciousness to sleep several hours previous, and she was making final preparations for a potentially violent awakening. She checked the wrist, ankle, and waist restraints, making sure they were secure, checked his vitals, and sat back to wait.

Tahiri's reaction to the man troubled Mar Rin. She had only been eighteen standard years old when the war ended, and had volunteered to go with the Jedi almost immediately. Tahiri had been her partner for most of the time since then, and Mar Rin believed that they were friends, as far as she understood the term. She had thought she knew the Jedi well, but her revulsion with the man was alien to Mar Rin. Tahiri liked everybody. Well, mostly. But Mar Rin had never known Tahiri to hate anyone. She definitely seemed to hate this man.

It was a puzzle to Mar Rin as to why though. It could not be the tattoos or scars; Tahiri had scars of her own, and had never seemed to even notice the tattoos of other ally Yuuzhan Vong they had worked with. His being a male was also not it, Tahiri had expressed appreciation for many males in the past, and males of several different species. Several women too, for that matter. Perhaps he was an unattractive male? Mar Rin did not understand what made a human attractive to another human, beyond hair color and voice, they all looked basically the same to her.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Uldir walked into the infirmary. He glanced at the man on the table and did a slight double take.

"Hello captain. May I assist you with something?" Mar Rin said. She had hardly interacted with the man, preferring to dig through the captured shaper's data to figure out what had been done to her patient. Intellectual puzzles were much preferable to human (in this case) interaction.

Uldir was still staring at the man on the table. "Son of a Sith. He really does look like Anakin." He muttered to himself, but not so softly Mar Rin could not hear him; Yuuzhan Vong ears were quite sharp.

"He resembles Anakin... Solo?" Mar Rin asked. Uldir nodded in affirmation. Mar Rin suddenly understood Tahiri's behavior.

Tahiri did not talk about Anakin Solo much. Mar Rin knew the Yuuzhan Vong propaganda about him of course, and Tahiri had corrected her whenever she said something about the fallen Jedi that was inaccurate, but the conversation ended there. Tahiri never brought him up on her own. Mar Rin assumed that Tahiri had cared for the Jedi, based on the story of Solo and Vua Rapuung's rescue of her, but having never met Solo before, she could never know.

"Did you know Anakin Solo as well, captain?" Mar Rin asked, hoping to learn more about the man who affected her friend so deeply.

Uldir gave her a sad smile. "I did. Back when I thought all it took to be a Jedi was wanting it." He said, clearly nostalgic. "Anakin and Tahiri were the best friends a guy could have. Never told me I couldn't do it. They had to know it was impossible."

"Of course we did." Came a voice from the door. "We just didn't want you to leave."

Uldir and Mar Rin turned to watch Tahiri enter the lab. She smiled and looked them both in the eye, but Mar Rin could see her carefully not looking at the man on the table. She crossed the room and settled in the corner, as far from the man as she could physically get. Klin-Fa followed Tahiri through the door and exchanged a look with Uldir. He nodded in understanding.

"Well," He said, turning to Tahiri. "I appreciate it. Feeding my delusions aside, going to Yavin was the best decision I ever made."

"That's just because your connections to the Order have landed you a high paying job and a pretty girlfriend." Tahiri shot back at him, her eyes closed and a smirk on her face. Uldir and Klin-Fa's faces colored. The pair sputtered denials; their relationship was not like that, they swore. Tahiri just laughed.

Mar Rin cleared her throat as the noise died down. "I hate to interrupt your fun, but the prisoner will awaken soon, and I want to tell everyone what I discovered from the shaper's data before he does." She said, inputting the proper data into the holo display.

Although the war was over, most Yuuzhan Vong still abhorred technology and only used it with great reluctance, if at all. Owing to her age, Mar Rin had conquered her bias more easily, and her comfort with galactic equipment had been a large part of her being assigned by the Jedi as Tahiri's partner.

The two Jedi and the ship captain all stood and moved to the display. Mar Rin activated it, and lines of Yuuzhan Vong text and several diagrams appeared above the projector.

"Alright Mar Rin, What have you got?" Tahiri said, having switched back into her 'all business' mode.

"Of course." The young Yuuzhan Vong began. "The information Mr. Kosigan gave you was accurate, Tahiri. Records indicate that the patient was comatose for two years, incoherent for approximately six months, and resistant once he regained his wits. After the deal Mr. Kosigan described, experimentation began in earnest. Using your shaping as a base, The shapers implanted a false life. New memories, new name, new training. It seems like they were trying to completely over write who he was before, and hope he would retain his connection to the Force, after the attempt to merge your old and new life failed, Tahiri."

"Well, it didn't exactly fail. Tahiri was just more dominant than Riina, so I mostly stayed myself." Tahiri said. "Though I guess these shapers had no way to know that."

"Quite." Said Mar Rin. "Their notes indicate that initial personality removal was successful."

"Personality removal?" Klin-Fa said, aghast at the thought.

"Yes. The procedures described are to wipe the mind of all memories, followed by the implantation of a complete new set. The implantation was only sixty-five percent complete when we interrupted." Mar Rin continued.

"Sixty-five? This guy's been here for years." Tahiri interrupted. "How did we manage to interrupt them?"

Mar Rin gave her friend a small smile. "You must remember, Tahiri. The shapers who worked on you were geniuses, the top of the field. These shapers... well... were not. Working off incomplete notes, I'm surprised they were even as far as they were." she said.

Klin-Fa winced. Having shapers work on you was still a big nightmare for a lot of galactic citizens, and after Tahiri and Jacen Solo's experiences, Jedi were especially wary of it. Incompetent shapers... that was something she found especially terrifying.

"If the procedure was going so badly, why do you think this guy's about to wake up?" Tahiri jerked her head towards the table. Mar Rin pointed to the holo-display.

"There. The brainwave patterns are consistent with someone who is exiting unconsciousness. He may not be awake for long, but I assumed you would like to at least ask him a few questions." She said, looking at Tahiri with face that looked far too innocent to not be intentional.

Tahiri rolled her eyes and looked toward the wall with a huff. Uldir and Klin-Fa giggled. Uldir had heard that Tahiri had become a bit withdrawn from the rest of the Jedi order, and he was glad that she seemed to retain at least one friend who could still draw some childishness out of her. War changed everyone, but Uldir had trouble seeing Tahiri as anything other than the nine year old motormouth he had first met, and any hint of that little girl shining through made him happy.

"Well, he better wake up soon." Tahiri bit out, still refusing to look at the man. "You're right. I do have questions, starting with how he got that face."

As if to oblige her, the brain activity monitor spiked. All eyes shot to the table. The man was awake. He looked quickly around at each occupant of the room, until his gaze landed on Tahiri. He stared at her with wide, blood red eyes.

* * *

Shaahol Rapuung awoke in confusion. There was no pain.

Being strapped to the table did not bother him; he could not remember a time when he had not been bound in some way. But he was not in the Embrace of Pain. He was not in the proving room, thorn-ed shackles around his ankles. He was not asleep, enduring the mental assault of the Voice. He was not connected to the shaper's instruments, small barbs providing constant discomfort as he was questioned and studied and asked to remember. He was promised battle and death if he could remember. He could never remember.

Not being in pain unnerved him. He knew he should worship pain. Bathe in it. Use it to fuel his fury and lust for battle. Every moment of his life that he could remember, there had been pain; now that it was gone, he felt a bit happy.

The thought repulsed him. Enjoying a lack of pain was an insult to the gods, not the proper mentality of a Yuuzhan Vong warrior! But many things about Shaahol Rapuung were not proper for a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. He longed to know what had happened to him, what injury had caused his body to shrink in size. What offense he committed for his implants to be taken; for his flesh to discolor in such a revolting way. Why had the gods cursed him with a disgusting human face? Why had he not been allowed to damage it? He longed to carve into it – to split his lips, to scar his forehead and cheeks, to apply the tattoos that were his birthright. He felt wrong without them.

The vague haze of his mind conjured a half memory of having them once; of having a proud, proper warriors body. The shapers had allowed him to reapply his tattoos and sacred brands as long as he did not touch the human face. He praised the gods for that allowance, he feared he would have gone mad without such an outlet. Pain self-applied was so much sweeter.

The weakness of his memory brought him shame. His childhood was strong. Memories of his creche on the Worldship, of a youth learning the ways of his people came to him easily, but arrival in this galaxy, the war, the _Jeedai_ , these things remained frustratingly vague and out of reach. Any time he tried to pray to the gods to return his memories, he heard the Voice.

The Voice was the bane of Shaahol Rapuung existence. It prevented him from properly worshiping the gods. It made him unable to concentrate during the shapers tests; failure after failure of routine tasks caused by momentary interruptions of concentration. It caused his hands to waiver when performing executions, subtly infecting his thoughts with attacks of conscience.

Most galling of all was the face of the Voice. It had his face. His _true_ face. A fierce Yuuzhan Vong warrior, tall and strong appeared in his mind's eye, the glorious perfection marred only by a pair of ice-blue eyes incongruously resting in the sockets. Shaahol Rapuung's anger began to rise simply thinking of the Voice, imagining the arrogant smirk that perpetually twisted his true face's visage. The Voice in His body had none of the proper warrior's grace or poise; muscles that should be tightly coiled, tense and ready for battle at a moments notice always appeared to him lax, relaxed in a way that no Yuuzhan Vong warrior would ever allow themselves to be. He hated the Voice. It's mockery of what Shaahol Rapuung longed to be once more drove him to distraction.

The shapers could tell, he knew. They never confronted him about his performance dips – they simply made some notes and punished him. They told him that he was not meeting expectations; it would be yet more time before he could join his brethren on the field of battle. That he needed to remember what he had done during the war. Apparently, he had unique experience that would allow the Yuuzhan Vong to return and emerge triumphant, if only he could remember.

Shaahol Rapuung hated the shapers. Lacking pain, he found his thinking clearer than he could ever remember it being. The Voice was also silent for the moment. He opened his eyes, prepared to unleash his grievances upon the shapers.

He was met with a bright light. After the surprise of the brightness subsided, he turned his head to where the shapers should have been, only to see an unfamiliar young shaper fiddling with infidel technology. The blasphemer noticed his awakening, her head moving from whatever she had been looking at before. Shaahol Rapuung seethed. Blasphemy or no, having another Yuuzhan Vong see his deplorable body caused him unending shame.

He followed the traitor's (for any Yuuzhan Vong who would debase themselves by using _machines_ was a traitor) eye line to discover three infidels observing him as well. He's shame grew as his rage mounted. How dare these lesser beings see his pathetic state. And such pathetic looking infidels. The male was tall and thin, his weak frame displaying none of the power of a proper warrior that the infidel weapon on his hip implied that he was.

The woman beside him had the stance of a proper warrior. Her eyes were suspicious, guarded, and glinting with just a hint of fear. Shaahol Rapuung took pleasure with her reaction. The dark-haired woman clearly understood that he was dangerous, as it should be. All who beheld him should tremble with fear and respect. He almost smiled, but his eyes dropped to the weapon clipped to the woman's belt and he stopped cold. A lightsaber. _Jeedai._

Memories swirled through his mind. Seeing the results of the _Jeedai_ massacres of Yuuzhan Vong children and slaves. Engaging the Order in great battles across many planets, cutting them down one by one on the march to inevitable victory. Standing shoulder to shoulder with his comrades, blocking amphistaff blows intended for refugees, desperate to... wait. Shaahol Rapuung felt the headache building. The Voice was back, trying to fill his head with lies. The _Jeedai_ were enemies. Never comrades. Certainly not whatever friends were. He forcibly silenced the Voice before turning to face the room's final occupant.

The diminutive blonde woman was glaring at Shaahol Rapuung with a severity that he found impressive. Her foul mood was only more pronounced by the Yuuzhan Vong-style scars adorning her forehead. He froze. His eyes widened as he took in all the details of the woman. The scars, the lightsaber, blonde hair, small even for an infidel. Memories flooded into him unbidden.

This infidel, younger and even smaller, smiling, laughing, running. Charging into battle, roaring a Yuuzhan Vong war cry as she cut down _Jeedai_. Now Yuuzhan Vong warriors. The scene of battle flickered in his mind, the infidel girl seemingly switching sides by the second. Finally, he recalled the lessons the shapers forced upon him, telling him of the enemies his strange amnesia had hidden in the fog of his mind. He knew this infidel now. The Jedi-who-was-shaped. Mezhan Kwaad's folly.

He met the infidel's eyes, his own, wide with surprise, narrowed to disgust filled slits.

"Tahiri Veila." He bit out.

Shaahol Rapuung basked in the feeling of delight that her reaction filled him with. Today might be a good day after all.

* * *

Tahiri's heart stopped.

Hearing her name cross the lips of that parody of Anakin Solo was bad enough. That would have only annoyed her. But it had his voice. Hearing her name, in that voice, was almost too much for her to bear. She felt everything; the anger, the hurt, the despair, everything about Anakin's death that she had been working through or suppressing surged forth and enveloped her. It took every ounce of her considerable control to keep from lashing out at the imposter. She knew that all of the emotions had played across her face, but she honestly could not care. This mockery of Anakin had crossed a line, and Tahiri knew she had made the correct decision in coming here. She needed to know why it existed.

Regaining her emotional equilibrium, Tahiri glared at the man.

"How do you know my name?" She demanded, her voice coming out raw and scratchy. A terrible, very un-Anakin grin spread across the man's face.

"The shapers made sure I knew of you, Tahiri Veila, so that I might avoid your failures." the man said. Everyone froze. The reply had come in Yuuzhan Vong. The question had been asked in Basic.

Mentally skipping over the disconnect of hearing the Yuuzhan Vong language in Anakin's voice, Tahiri decided to attack this development.

"You understand Basic well enough. Why speak in Yuuzhan Vong?" She said, unable to keep an edge out of her voice. She was past the point of disguising her disgust about the man, but she did not really care if he thought she was rude or not.

"Why should I debase myself by speaking the infidel tongue? You and the Shamed One understand me. It will suffice." He said. The surprise had fled his face, and a perverse look of satisfaction had replaced it.

"It hardly matters anymore, but I'm not a Shamed One." Mar Rin interjected.

"There are no Shamed Ones anymore." Tahiri said. "The treaty saw to that." Both women took satisfaction in the look of confusion that crossed the man's face.

"Treaty? The Yuuzhan Vong would never sign a treaty! Victory or death!" the man roared. Mar Rin let out a small snort; she had always found the short tempers of warriors amusing, and this man seemed almost like a holo-net parody of warrior. All the worst stereotypical traits were present; none of the virtues were apparent.

"No matter what you feel, There is a treaty. The Yuuzhan Vong went to war, and we lost." Mar Rin said, looking to her instruments instead of the man.

"Lucky for you, the New Republic has a lot more mercy that the Vong." Uldir added, moving to lean against the wall and crossing his arms.

"Yuuzhan Vong." Tahiri corrected absently. The man returned his attention to her.

Klin-Fa adopted Uldir's pose beside him. "I didn't know you spoke Yuuzhan Vong." She whispered to him.

"I don't," he shot back, equally quietly. "Context clues. He clearly understands us, may as well get my digs in. That guy creeps me out."

Klin-Fa nodded and grunted in agreement. The pair turned their attention to the stare down between the man and Tahiri.

She broke the silence. "Point is, whatever you are, your side lost. That outpost we pulled you off of was the last major point of resistance. You've got nothing. No home, no friends, no allies." Tahiri's voice was ice. Her words were cruel, and unbecoming of a Jedi knight, but seeing the wild, violent look the man was pulling with Anakin's face had set her nerves on edge.

A faraway look appeared in the man's eyes.

"The Force is my ally." He said quietly, in Basic. The angry look returned.

Tahiri's blood ran cold. She could feel her pulse in her face as her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. THAT had sounded exactly like Anakin. She could feel her shock melting into a fresh wave of anger.

"Who are you?" she asked without further preamble. Tahiri was done with games.

The man appeared to struggle with himself momentarily, but the hateful look on his face returned as he answered in Yuuzhan Vong. "I am Shaahol Rapuung, proud warrior of the Yuuzhan Vong!"

"Must you shout?" Mar Rin put in, still nor looking up. "It is quite distracting."

"Be silent shaper. You know better than to contradict your betters!" Shaahol Rapuung snarled.

"If I see any, I shall be sure to remember." She snapped back.

"Enough!" Tahiri barked, the banter fraying her almost shot nerves even further. "You," she pointed at Shaahol Rapuung, "Why did you say that?"

"You asked me my name. I told you." came the petulant reply.

"Not that! Before! You said something in Basic. Care to repeat it?" Tahiri knew she was about to play bad cop with no good cop, but she did not care. Shaahol Rapuung's off-hand statement had shaken her, and she needed an explanation.

"I said nothing in your infidel tongue." He growled.

Tahiri looked to Mar Rin.

"He is not lying." The shaper said, motioning to her displays. She may not have the Force, but Mar Rin was confident enough in her monitoring devices that she was confident in using them as a crude lie detector. "Though it may be wise to check him with the Force."

"We may have a problem there." Klin-Fa said. "I've been trying since we woke up. He's not there."

"He's blocking you?" Tahiri broke her held gaze with Shaahol Rapuung to look at the older woman.

"No. He's blank. Like a Yuuzhan Vong is." Klin-Fa replied. "You didn't notice?"

Truthfully, Tahiri had been shielding her mind from the man since he had awoken. Seeing this imposter wearing Anakin's face was hard enough. Feeling him was another thing entirely. An uncomfortable silence reigned.

"Let me check him with Vongsense." Tahiri finally said. She flipped the mental switch to use Vongsense and stretched out to Mar Rin to confirm that her senses were working properly. Feeling the unusual yet familiar presence of her friend, Tahiri took a deep breath and switched her senses to Shaahol Rapuung.

Nothing.

Tahiri subconsciously leaned away from the man. She knew she had been spoiled by her Vongsense; being able to feel the Yuuzhan Vong for so long, she had forgotten how disconcerting it was to be completely unable to detect another being with her mind.

Her instincts screamed against it, but Tahiri switched back to regular use of the Force. She needed to be sure.

Nothing.

"How..." Tahiri said, not realizing she had spoken aloud. Someone completely removed from the Force was impossible. He did not even create a hole in the Force, as the Yuuzhan Vong did. He simply was not there, as if he was a droid.

"You don't exist." Tahiri said, staring incredulously at the man on the table. Her comrades looked at her oddly.

"You seeing something we don't?" Uldir asked, confusion marking his features.

Tahiri looked at him. "No. I'm not. That's the problem. He may as well be furniture for all I can sense him." she said, returning her gaze to Shaahol Rapuung. He had an ugly, triumphant smile on his face.

"I see now! I am to be the instrument of the _Jeedai's_ destruction! The shapers have made me immune to your Force!" He crowed, vile laughter tumbling from his lips.

"Yuuzhan Vong are already immune to the Force." Mar Rin deadpanned, still absorbed in the readings from her instruments. "True, Tahiri cannot use her special senses on you, but she is one of only two _Jeedai_ with that ability. A smaller than normal, weaker than normal Yuuzhan Vong warrior is hardly going to offer a stronger challenge to anyone accustomed to fighting us."

Shaahol Rapuuung raged, straining against his restraints as he hurled invectives at the young shaper. Tahiri's revulsion with the man was dampened with pride in her friend. She had spent the bulk of their acquaintance trying to get the Yuuzhan Vong girl to lighten up. Snarking under pressure was a necessary component of life as far as she was concerned, and Mar Rin had been unacceptably stoic. Bluntness was not quite joking, but it was only a step away from sarcasm, and Tahiri was pleased with Mar Rin's progress.

"My my, such language." Tahiri drawled, her horrid temper against Shaahol Rapuung beginning to be overwhelmed by her curiosity at his seeming nonexistence in the Force. "Warriors are supposed to be well behaved, no?"

"Be silent, insolent female! Your unnatural life is a base heresy against the gods!" Shaahol Rapuung spat, baring his teeth as a slightly mad expression overtook his face.

"You seem to have been shaped just as much as me, pal, so I'd think twice before declaring me heretical." Tahiri said, glaring blaster bolts into the man.

An odd calm once again came over Shaahol Rapuung. "A similar heresy, for sure." He said, Basic again escaping his mouth. He locked eyes with Tahiri, and, just for a millisecond, she could have sworn the horrible red eyes of the man flickered blue.

The moment passed. The mad expression returned. Tahiri ignored the spray of invective flowing from the man's mouth, concentrating instead on Mar Rin; she was radiating confusion.

Tahiri turned to her friend and deactivated her vongsense. She had not even realized she had switched to it.

"What's up Mar Rin?" Tahiri asked.

Mar Rin did not answer, instead beckoning Tahiri to her with her hands. Tahiri walked to her friend, reaching her side the same time that Uldir and Klin-Fa, who had also seen the gesture. Mar Rin's eyes were glued to her instruments. The Jedi and Uldir, whose scientific education could not hope to allow them to understand what the read outs were telling the young shaper, waited impatiently for an explanation.

Mar Rin finally turned to acknowledge her audience. "Look here friends." She said, pointing to one of the graphics on the display.

"What are we supposed to be seeing?" Klin-fa asked. Mar Rin looked up at the group, and Tahiri and Uldir's shrugs indicated that she was speaking for the group. Mar Rin sighed. She was glad for her allies, but she wished that Tahiri would occasionally be assigned a mission with someone who's understanding of science was higher than 'might as well be magic.'

"His brain waves." She said, pointing to a specific spiking chart. "They're too active. The more agitated he grows, the more erratic and active his brain waves become."

"Why is that a problem?" Uldir asked. "Back in search and rescue, more brain activity was good."

Mar Rin nodded. "And normally that would be correct. But his brain is TOO active. It is as if all of his thoughts are being doubled. Despite his behavior, he has a normal human mind. If it stays like this, he is going to have a stroke."

"What would cause his brain to have extra activity?" Klin-fa asked.

"Yeah, his thought process has seemed pretty straightforward to me." Tahiri grumbled, just loud enough that Shaahol Rapuung could hear.

Ignoring the fresh string of invective the Jedi's comment prompted, Mar Rin pressed on. "Nevertheless, I am not comfortable allowing this man to hemorrhage to death without trying anything to help. If none of you object, I am going to sedate him. At least until we come up with a better plan."

The discussion halted for a moment while the group thought it over, allowing Shaahol Rapuung's barrage of insults to overtake the room.

"Sedation sounds great." Uldir said after about 30 seconds of it. Tahiri and Klin-fa nodded.

"Agreed." said Mar Rin, pushing the buttons on her console that administered the sedative. The group watched the young man slowly succumb,his ranting growing slower and less coherent until he finally slipped into unconsciousness.

Silence reigned for the first time since the man had woken, and everyone in the med bay let it settle, enjoying it. Tahiri closed her eyes and let the Force fill her. To her surprise, she felt a pull toward Shaahol Rapuung.

Tahiri felt a hand on her shoulder. "Tahiri, what are you doing?" she heard Klin-fa ask. Her eyes snapped open. She was surprised to find that she had been unconsciously moving towards the prone form on the table.

"I can feel him." Tahiri whispered. "Can't you?"

Klin-fa shook her head. Both turned to look at the man. A shrill tone from the monitoring device interrupted the pair's thoughts. Mar Rin's fingers danced across the machine's controls, and the results brought a frown to her face.

"His brain activity is not slowing." She said, looking up to catch Tahiri's eye.

"Sithspit." Uldir spoke for the group. "What do we do now?"

"Tahiri, you can sense him." Klin-fa said. "If science can't do anything, perhaps the Force can."

Mar Rin let out an irritated huff. "It is not my equipment's fault that man has a... a weirdo brain."

Everyone turned to stare at Mar Rin. The young Yuuzhan Vong blushed. "I do not know the correct word in your language." she sputtered.

The tension in the room drained as the Yuuzhan Vong's comment caused a ripple of laughter. Tahiri took a deep breath and a serious look fell across her face. She looked at Klin-fa.

"To your point, I can feel him. Mar Rin, keep monitoring him, I'm gonna try to sooth him with the Force." Tahiri said, her gaze shifting to the Yuuzhan Vong.

Mar Rin nodded. Tahiri shook herself, exhaling and centering her mind. She surrounded herself with the Force, letting the mystical energy fill her and pass through her. She prepared herself, knowing that the mental aspects of the Force were not her forte. She knew she should work on it, but the brute force approach to the Force appealed to the Yuuzhan Vong side of her, and none of the Jedi she respected judged her for it.

'No regrets, Veila.' she thought, expanding her awareness and reaching out to Shaahol Rapuung with her feelings.

* * *

Tahiri had never tried to connect to another being's mind beyond simple telepathy before. She had not known what to expect, but this certainly was not it. She floated in an endless void of white, able to move in any direction, but with no indication that she was going anywhere. She allowed the Force to guide her; she may not know where she was supposed to go, but she trusted the Force did.

She would not mind if the Force got her where she was supposed to go a bit more quickly, however.

Her involuntary patience was finally rewarded when two figures appeared on the horizon. Or out of nowhere; Tahiri could not tell anymore. Her sense of distance had abandoned her when the Force took over. She blinked. The figured were right before her.

The first was a hulking, stereotypical Yuuzhan Vong warrior. He turned to stare at Tahiri. She met his glare with a detached look. The other looked human, but had his back to the warrior and thus to Tahiri as well.

"YOU!" the warrior bellowed. "Even in my dreams you disturb me!"

"Shaahol Rapuung, I presume." Tahiri said.

"Who else would I be? You are in my mind!" He said with a snarl.

"Well, it is pretty empty in here. Makes sense." She fired back.

Tahiri looked the warrior over. "I suppose this is how you think you're supposed to look?"

"And will again, once I kill everyone aboard your ship and return to my people!" Shaahol Rapuung's voice was markedly different from the waking world. Harsher, more guttural. More Yuuzhan Vong.

"Give it a rest Shaahol. She's not buying it, and I'm tired of hearing it." The other figure said.

The voice caused Tahiri's breath to catch in her chest. The figure turned to face the pair. A slight smirk graced the man's lips. His icy blue eyes caught Tahiri's. She felt as if her heart would hammer through her chest. The smirk broke into a broad grin.

"Hey Tahiri." said Anakin Solo.


	3. It's All in the Mind

A/N Hey, I did this one way faster! A bit shorter than normal; dialogue heavy chapters make things look longer than they are. I almost started this one over after Rebels did 'the world between worlds' but I figured, I'm in Legends anyway, I'll do what I want.

No beta, any typos or grammatical errors are because I'm an idiot.

* * *

Tahiri stared in disbelief. She had not known what to expect in Shaahol Rapuung's mind, but Anakin Solo certainly had not been it.

"How?" she finally managed to say.

Anakin, already grinning, laughed. "I don't know how long I've been here, so that's potentially a long story."

Tahiri's reply was interrupted by the now considerably larger-than-her form of Shaahol Rapuung lunging at her. The warrior snarled with rage as he pressed his attack, lashing out with wild, powerful strikes. Tahiri evaded each strike, reaching for her lightsaber only to find her equipment belt missing. She huffed in annoyance. Leave it to the Force to disarm her for no reason. At least she was not naked.

A punch glanced off Tahiri's chin. _No more miss nice Jedi_ , she thought, grabbing the outstretched limb and leaping onto it, twisting her body and throwing he legs across the Yuuzhan Vong's neck and chest so that when the pair crashed to the ground, Tahiri had the warrior's elbow trapped in a joint lock. She proceeded to kick him in the face a few times for good measure.

Shaahol Rapuung surprised her by flipping over, the rotation giving him the strength to swing Tahiri over his body and smashing her face into the arbitrary surface of the white void. She release the warrior's arm and rolled over her shoulder, regaining her feet and pivoting to face her opponent in one smooth motion. Tahiri grinned. She had not been in a good fist fight in ages.

Abruptly, the fun ended, as Shaahol Rapuung suddenly rose two meters into the air and rocketed away, gaining speed so rapidly Tahiri was soon unable to see him.

"Hope you don't mind," Tahiri turned to the speaker, seeing Anakin with his hand raised, "I can tell you were enjoying yourself, but I feel like we need to talk."

The adrenaline from Shaahol Rapuung's attack began to recede, and Tahiri's senses were once again filled with Anakin Solo. The gentle grin on his face seemed to paralyze her. Unlike the twisted smirk that adorned the face of the body in the med bay, this smile was pure Anakin.

He began to walk toward her. Tahiri's breath caught in her throat. Seeing Anakin's face on the Yuuzhan Vong ship had brought a lot of feelings she had thought buried bubbling to the surface. She knew she had been overly hostile to Shaahol Rappung in the med bay, but seeing the form of her best friend warped so badly had brought her Yuuzhan Vong side straight to the surface. Seeing it here, now, unblemished, was shredding the emotional defences she had so carefully built up.

He stopped walking, standing at arm's length from her. She had to look up; Anakin had always been taller than her, but the apparently fully grown Anakin stood taller than ever.

"What are you?" Tahiri asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The man laughed gently, slowly raised his hand, and poked her in the forehead.

"Dummy."

The dam broke. Tahiri launched herself at him, wrapping Anakin in a four limbed hug, tears trailing down her cheeks. She buried her face in his neck, clutching him like he would disappear the instant she let go. He might, for all she knew. Everything about her current situation was unknown.

Anakin laughed softly and rubbed Tahiri's back. She luxuriated in the feeling; Anakin was touching her! He was Here! Wherever here was. Reality crashed over Tahiri. She put her feet down and leaned away from Anakin, keeping her hands on his shoulders. Just in case.

"I…" Tahiri faltered, not sure where to start.

""Have questions? I'd imagine so." Anakin said. "Let's sit, like I said, this might be a long story."

The pair lowered themselves to the ground. They sat in silence for a moment, Tahiri taking the pause to tentatively brush Anakin's mind with the Force. She met a fortress of mental defences, but after a moment, she felt the answering touch. It felt perfect. The doubt blasted from her mind, Tahiri broke the silence.

"How?" She repeated.

Anakin stared into Tahiri's eyes. "I'm not actually sure." He began. "I thought I was dead at Myrkr. I felt myself becoming one with the Force. As best I can tell, I passed out after I overloaded myself." He paused and looked away. "Honestly, I figured I would die. Waking up was a pretty big surprise."

Anakin but his elbows on his knees and stared at the ground. "Tahiri, I'm sorry." he said, so softly it was almost a whisper. "I was arrogant, and my bad plan got a lot of our friends killed."

Tahiri gently placed her hand on Anakin's elbow. "You didn't make us come, dummy. In hindsight, yeah, it was a pretty bad plan, but none of us had a better one. We believed in you." she said. Anakin snorted derisively.

"And what did that get you? I made my siblings and my girlfriend watch me die!" He spat. Surprisingly, there was no anger in his voice. Just bitter disappointment. Tahiri leaned over and gave Anakin a tentative hug.

"It was bad for a while." She whispered. "Everyone expected you to be the leader. The big hero who would save us all. Even the adults expected that a little, I think." Tairi felt Anakin smile against her shoulder.

"Crazy thing is, I was starting to think that too." He said. "I didn't even have the answers. I just figured I'd be able to figure it out as I went along."

"I think that's a danger of being related to Han Solo." said Tahiri, leaning back so she could look at Anakin's face again. "He's certainly never been accused of knowing what he was doing."

Anakin laughed at that. Tahiri grinned. This felt good. Sitting and talking with Anakin was the way it was supposed to be. It felt right.

"So…" She said, not wanting to bring the mood down, but aware that her trip into Shaahol Rapuung's mind theoretically had a time limit. "Not to crash the pity ship here, but what happened when you, uh, woke up? I talked to the leader of the prisoners, but he said you were away from them a lot of the time."

Something in Anakin's eyes shined. "Kaffis is ok?" he asked. Tahiri nodded. Anakin let out a breath. "That's good. Selfish as it might sound, I'd hate to have submitted myself to those experiments for nothing. Wasn't exactly fun."

"I know what you mean." came Tahiri's dry response.

"I guess you're the only one who would." Anakin said. His eyes widened and he whipped his head toward his companion. "Are you…"

"Yes." Tahiri said quickly, hoping to assuage her friend's fears. "Some other Jedi got tortured, but they never tried what they did to me again." She paused. "Well, that we knew of. I guess they tried once more."

"You could say." Anakin said, smirking. "But as for what they did, I imagine you know pretty well. After the riots, I cut a deal where I would cooperate if they left the other prisoners alone. I got dragged to the damutek, strapped into the embrace-of-pain, and I've pretty much been there ever since. I retreated into the Force after about a year of it. I'm honestly not sure how long I've been here. Shouty guy showed up a while back, so I've guess the shapers accomplished whatever they were trying to do. I've been messing with him; sharing my mind has made him quite susceptible to the Force. At least if I'm using it." he finished.

Tahiri reached out and squeezed Anakin's hand. Her own shaping had been a traumatic experience, but she had never lost her sense of time during it. Anakin squeezed back.

"Please tell me that laser brain over there hasn't been running around in my body, shouting about infidels and trying to punish the evil ones?" He said, the look in his eyes betraying the joking tone in his voice.

"Well, he has been doing that, but as far as we can tell, us waking him up is the first time he's ever been out of the damutek." Tahiri replied. "He's quite rude, you know."

"Believe me, I know." said Anakin. "Whenever he sleeps, he comes in here and I have to deal with him."

"That's actually the problem, Anakin. Mar Rin, that's my shaper friend, she's been monitoring you, him, whatever, since we found you. Your brainwaves and his are overlapping. She says that if something doesn't change soon…" Tahiri was cut off.

"My brain will melt." Anakin said. Seeing the look of disbelief on Tahiri's face, he continued. "What, I'm the science and tech guy, remember? You think I couldn't tell something was wrong with my own brain?"

"Hey, until a got pulled in here I thought you were a clone or something!" Tahiri let out a small huff, drawing a chuckle from Anakin. "It's not funny! You're going to die if we don't fix this!" she shouted, panic creeping into her tone.

"So let's fix it." Anakin said. Tahiri was surprised by his calm. She probably should not have been through. Having nothing to do for over a year but meditate and prod an irritating consciousness trying to override your own would necessarily lead most people to be fairly unflappable.

"What did you do?" he continued. "When I… left, you had your brain under control."

"Yeah...uh… turns out I didn't." Tahiri muttered. Seeing Anakin's questioning look, she pressed on. "After the Myrkr mission, a lot of us were in a pretty bad place. You were, well, we thought you were dead, we thought Jacen was dead, all the other who did die… our generation of Jedi didn't handle it well. Jaina went dark for a bit," Tahiri heald up her hand to calm Anakin, seeing the question forming on his lips. "They're both fine, relax. But yeah, it turns out Riina wasn't quite as gone as we thought. I was pretty messed up for a while."

Anakin scooted over to her and threw his arm over her shoulder in sympathy. Tahiri instinctively leaned into him; she knew that they were in some sort of Force projection of Anakin's mind, but it felt remarkably real. She was still half convinced this was some sort of dream, so she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

"So what happened?" Anakin prodded again.

"Riina tried to take over. I fought. I was in a coma for a while. Eventually, we agreed that we had to merge. Riina Kwaad and Tahiri Veila became one, new person, with the memories of both." Tahiri said. It was hard to admit to him that she was not the same person he remembered.

"You still seem pretty Tahiri to me." Anakin said, rubbing her shoulder. Tahiri smiled. She knew that she was more changed than she was currently showing; something about being here, with him, was dragging the fifteen year old out of her.

"I'll disappoint you later. Now, we need to fix your head." She said, standing and desperately putting on her business face. If Anakin's head exploded because she spent too long goofing around in his brain, she would never be able to forgive herself.

She reached down to Anakin to help him up. He clasped her hand and she yanked him to his feet, shock playing across his face at the ease with which she did so. She grinned at him.

"I've been fighting a war, hero-boy. Plus, you're skinny." the barb rolled off her tongue so easily. Her smile widened. It felt good to tease him again.

"Yeah, well… prisoner." Anakin replied, gesturing to himself for emphasis. Seeing that his logic was not convincing her, Anakin rolled his eyes and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Ok, fine. So I have to merge with Shaahol, you say?"

Tahiri nodded. "Synthetic or not, his personality and memories are part of your brain. They can't be removed, just like you couldn't. You could try suppressing him, like I did Riina, but that won't work long term." she said.

"You're the expert." Anakin said. He reached out with his hand and summoned the Force. Shaahol Rapuung appeared on the horizon, hurtling towards the pair in the reverse trajectory of the one that had sent him away.

The Yuuzhan Vong warrior howled as he saw who he was being pulled towards, and began reaching for non-existent weapons all over his body. Anakin was tempted to let the rude being crash in a heap at his feet, but the idea was a fleeting one; he needed to get on the same page with the guy, after all, antagonizing him at this moment was probably unwise. Anakin instead gently spun Shaahol Rapuung to a standing position and set him down.

Tahiri was probably more surprised than she should have been that Shaahol Rapuung's first act back in their presence was to charge Anakin. The warrior grabbed the Jedi by the collar and began spitting invective directly into his face.

Anakin shut him up by headbutting him.

As Shaahol Rapuung reeled, Anakin straightened his clothes and cleared his throat. "Look, Shaahol Rapuung. You and I need to have a talk."

The warrior stood, seething. He looked for a moment like he would attack again, but instead wiped the blood from his nose and gave Anakin a withering look.

"And what do we have to say to one another, voice?" he growled.

"Well, we're gonna die soon. Seems pertinent." Anakin replied.

Tahiri marveled at how calm Anakin was. He radiated it, like the thought of his own imminent death was no bigger deal than stubbing his toe. The petite Jedi prided herself on her emotional control, recent evidence otherwise notwithstanding, but Anakin was something else. She supposed that a year and change of meditation might have something to do with it.

"We will die soon? Absurd! You will die soon, at my hands!" Shaahol Rapuung shouted. The Yuuzhan Vong lunged toward Anakin, who simply folded his arms and pointed at him.

The warrior halted in his tracks. He briefly continued his running motion, but Anakin has lifted him just high enough off the ground that his feet could not touch. Shaahol Rapuung struggled, but eventually he settled down.

"Now, about that talk." Anakin grinned. Ignoring the Yuuzhan Vong's replying sneer, he continued, "We are going to die. Like it or not, we share this brain, and the pressure of having two full personalities is overloading it."

"So leave." Shaahol Rapuung spat.

"Not an option. Neither of us can leave. Staying is killing us." Anakin said.

"So we die? Unacceptable! I have had no glory! No battle! No…" Shaahol Rapuung's rant was interrupted.

"There is another way." Tahiri chimed in. The Yuuzhan Vong turned his head to stare at her.

"And what do you know of it, heretic?" he shouted, "You are nothing but a shaper's experiment gone awry!"

"Exactly. We're the same, Shaahol Rapuung." She said. "I've been through this. I know how to fix it."

"It seems obvious enough! Two souls in one body is too much. One of us must die!"

"Neither of you can die! Or rather, killing one of you kills you both. The shapers thought they were replacing Anakin with you, but that's not how it works. You were simply inserted into the space he was already occupying."

"Blasphemous lies! It was your shapers who altered my body!"

"Our scientists shrank you a half meter, changed the shape of your skull and gave you Anakin's face? For what reason?"

Shaahol Rapuung growled incoherantly for a moment, but was unable to come up with an answer. "I am not fake." He finally said, quietly.

"No, Shaahol Rapuung, you're not." Anakin said. "You exist, and you have a right to do so. Just because I was here first, doesn't make you less real. But the sad fact is, neither of us are going to get what we deserve here. Those shapers screwed up, and we have to pay for it."

"If there is nothing to be done, than all we can do is wait for death." Shaahol Rapuung snapped.

"You're fighting this way less than I expected." Tahiri said.

"If it is inevitable, than it is inevitable. I will take comfort that I am taking a _jeedai_ with me."

"You're just giving up? So much for the great Yuuzhan Vong warrior." Tahiri sneered, her tone dripping with mockery.

"A Yuuzhan Vong warrior dies with honor. I am not a fool. I...know what you say is true. I overheard the shapers discussing my brain. I did not understand what they meant until now. I was always meant to be… temporary. A bomb set to go off and take as many _jeedai_ with me as possible." He turned to Anakin. "You have always been in my mind since my memories began. I was told you were a heretic trick, the cause of my memory loss."

"It was always a lie Shaahol Rapuung. You don't have memories before the damutek because that is where you were born. I've told you that." Anakin replied.

"Why should I have believed you? A treacherous voice in my head had no reason to tell the truth."

"Then why do you believe us now?"

"I can… feel it." Shaahol Rapuung sighed. "The pressure on the mind. I assumed you were causing it, but…"

"Yeah. We're both causing it."

"The abomination claims to know a way to survive?"

"The abomination is named Tahiri, and yes, she does." Tahiri cut in. Anakin laughed at the irritation in her voice. She ignored him. "This happened to me as well. It never got to the brain melting point, but Riina and I were making each other miserable, so we had to do something."

"What did you do, if not purge this Riina from your mind? You seem unconflicted." Shaahol Rapuung said.

"We had to merge."

"Merge?"

"Combine our minds. Tahiri Veila and Riina Kwaad ceased to be, and a new being, made of the best parts of us, was born."

"Yet you are still called Tahiri."

"Well, I was here first. But I'm not the same as I was. I'm a new person, with the memories and experiences of both."

"So Riina is gone."

"NO!" Tahiri shouted, startling the two men. "Riina is me! I am Riina! I am Tahiri! I am Both!"

"She certainly has the volume of a Yuuzhan Vong warrior." Anakin joked

"And the attitude towards pain." she replied.

"Kinky."

Tahiri blushed, but pressed onward. "Anyway, I know you don't want to do it. I didn't. Riina didn't. But it's necessary. You have to."

"If I accept the necessity, I will disappear." Shaahol Rapuung growled.

"So will I." Anakin said. "We will both die, and be reborn as someone new."

"So to live, we must both die." Shaahol Rapuung said. He smiled. "Acceptable."

"You're taking this rather better than I expected."

"Killing you is worth any price."

"Wow. Ok. That's a healthy mindset."

"Soon, you will share it."

Anakin blanched at the thought. He turned to Tahiri. "Ok, what's next?" he asked.

"Dunno, we just sort of… decided to do it, and it happened." Tahiri said.

"Sounds good enough to me. See you on the other side Tahiri. Ready, Shaahol Rapuung?"

"Ready, Anakin Solo." the warrior replied.

Anakin locked eyes with Tahiri. "May the Force be with you." she whispered. He grinned and nodded.

Anakin released his Force hold on the Yuuzhan Vong, allowing him to stand. The two approached one another. Anakin extended his hand with a grin. Shaahol Rapuung matched the grin and took his hand.

The world exploded.

* * *

Tahiri felt herself falling. Then crashing. She mostly felt the crashing. Opening her eyes, Tahiri found herself back in the medbay, with her friends staring as her.

"What?" she asked, picking herself up out of the mess of equipment she had somehow been propelled into.

"What happened?" Uldir asked. "You touched his head, and like five seconds later you went flying across the room."

"Looks like I got ejected." she said. "Mar Rin, how is Anakin's brain activity?"

She crossed to the young Yuuzhan Vong, anxiety playing across her features as the events of her mental link with Anakin settled.

"Brain activity normalized the instant your connection with him was severed. He should not be in danger, at least for the moment."

Tahiri let out a sigh as relief as she let the news wash over her. Anakin was safe. She spun to face her friends. "Uldir, I was wrong. It IS him!" she said. "It IS Anakin. The Yuuzhan Vong tricked us! He never died. The body we burned was a clone. He's been here all along, being shaped. They did to him what they did to me and we never knew and we couldn't feel him and we should have found this place sooner and…"

"BREATHE, Tahiri!" Uldir cut her off.

The young Jedi's mouth snapped shut. She felt something on her face and realized that she had begun to cry during her tirade. She felt her face heating in embarrassment for the loss of control, but the tears would not stop. Her emotions swirled within her. She let the walls down. Tahiri had kept tight control over her emotions for so long. She was tired of fighting it.

It crashed over Tahiri like a flood. She allowed it to sweep her away. Happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, horror, love, everything she felt swept through her and fuelled the tears streaming down her cheeks. She collapsed, overwhelmed by the intensity of the emotions she was finally allowing herself to feel. She felt arms under her shoulders, and looked up to see that Uldir and Klin-fa had jumped forward to catch her before she fell. Her gratitude for the show of comradery made her cry harder.

"Force Tahiri. What happened?" Klin-fa asked as the pair eased her onto a chair.

"It's...it's hard to explain." Tahiri said between sobs.

"Not that hard." Came a voice from the exam table.

Mar Rin let out a cry of alarm and lept back from the table, having moved to it to reattach the monitors that had been torn lose when Tahiri broke contact. Klin-fa and Uldir spun, prepared to defend themselves. Tahiri stared through tear-filled eyes.

The man on the table was awake. A very slight grin hung on his lips as he stared at Tahiri. His eyes were blue.

"Don't cry, Tahiri." He said. Tahiri tried to laugh, but the sound was lost to a sharp intake of breath and a fit of hiccups.

The man looked around the room. His eyes met with each person in it, but he only vaguely recognized Klin-fa and Mar Rin, so he locked eyes with Uldir. He was not entirely sure who he was yet, but Anakin and Shaahol Rapuung had agreed; he was here first.

"Any chance of getting these restraints off?" asked Anakin Solo.

"You seem different." Uldir said.

"I suppose you could say I'm feeling more myself." came the reply.

"So, the Shaahol Rapuung thing…"

"That was me. Well, it was a part of me. Don't worry. It won't happen again."

"I'm… very confused."

"I would be too."

"Tahiri said you actually are Anakin."

"I was."

"But not anymore."

"I mostly still am. There's just a little more in here, is all."

Uldir gave Anakin an incredulous look. Anakin chuckled.

"It's a Force thing." he said.

"Ah. Say no more." Uldir nodded with pretend understanding.

"So, let me up?" Anakin repeated his request.

Uldir moved to remove the restraints, but Mar Rin stopped him. "Wait, let me run some tests first. He might be lying." she said. Uldir looked between the two, conflicted.

"That's fine." Anakin said. "I probably wouldn't trust me either, if I were in her shoes."

Mar Rin approached the table and, with a nod from Anakin, reset all of her equipment. Tahiri watched in silence, her crying fit slowing. It was surreal to see the scene in front of her, even though she had seen the same less than an hour before. It was different now though; before, it had been Mar Rin scanning a clone, or some sort of shaper homunculus. Now it was her friend scanning her best friend, lover, whatever they were now. Technically they were two completely different people. Tahiri sniffed, suddenly worried that Anakin would be too different from before.

She watched as Anakin patiently submitted to Mar Rin's testing. The shaper looked over her instruments, nodded at the results, and tapped a few buttons. Tahiri reminded herself that she needed to learn what Mar Rin's science talk actually meant one of these days. She was starting to suspect the young Yuuzhan Vong thought she was stupid.

Mar Rin looked up from her screen. "All brain function seems to be normal. Or as normal as a Force sensitive brain is, anyway." she said.

"Should I be insulted?" Anakin asked aloud, joking.

"I meant no offence. The working of _jeedai_ brains is fascinating." Mar Rin responded. Tahiri smiled. Mar Rin was immune to jokes.

"So, can you let me up?" Anakin asked once again.

Mar Rin nodded. "Yes. I am finished testing for now, and if you are secretly still Shaahol Rapuung, I trust Tahiri will be up to the task of defeating you in combat." Tahiri smiled at her friend's confidence in her abilities.

Uldir moved back to the table and unfastened the restraints on Anakin. The man sat up and flexed his hands, stared at his arms, then looked down at his torso in shock. Tahiri laughed. The tattoos and brandings had been shocking for her to see, she could not imagine what it would be like to wake up with them on her.

Anakin looked at Uldir. "Is my back like this too?" he asked.

"Yup. Your legs too, according to Mar Rin." Uldir replied. "But not your face, head, or hands."

"So I could hide them. I was, after all, supposed to be an infiltrator and spy amongst the _jeedai._ " Anakin said, purposely pronouncing the last word in the Yuuzhan Vong way. Tahiri noticed his pronunciation was spot on. That was new.

"And as fun as it would be to fight all the Jedi, I think I'd rather not." Anakin finished.

Tahiri finally found her feet, lurching forward with a half walk, half sprint. She moved past Klin-fa and then Uldir, vaguely aware that the might have pushed them out of her way. She stumbled into Anakin, throwing her arms around his neck and wrapping him in the tightest hug she could manage. Anakin tensed for a moment, but quickly settled and returned the hug.

"I wasn't sure it really happened." Tahiri said through renewed tears.

"Me either. I half-figured it was some sort of Force dream. Glad it wasn't though." Anakin said. He rubbed her back, attempting to sooth his crying friend.

"What happened to Shaahol Rapuung? Tahiri and Riina merged, but Riina wasn't a full personality." Tahiri asked.

"He remembered. All those false memories Shaahol couldn't find, he found them all in his last moments. I have two full lives worth of memories." Anakin paused. "It's an… unusual experience."

"I can relate." Tahiri deadpanned. She leaned back and looked Anakin in the eyes. "Are you Anakin, or Shaahol Rapuung?"

"Like I said, I remember both. But Shaahol is farther away, like he was an immersive holovid I watched. I remember it all, vividly, but it's less real somehow, than Anakin." he said.

"Sounds like me." Tahiri said. She swallowed. He felt it too. He _understood_! "I think the Force knows who we are supposed to be. I am Tahiri. Just a little more than the one you knew."

"I like that, Tahiri-with-extra." he said. "Nice to meet you. I'm Anakin Solo, with a few new features."

Tahiri laughed. "Dummy." She stared at him for a moment, losing herself in his eyes. They weren't exactly the eyes she remembered: there was pain there; a haunted look he had never had before. But they were His eyes. No mistake about that.

"What's wrong, Tahiri?" Anakin asked her, breaking the silence.

"Nothing much. I just realized that the Tahiri I was owes the Anakin you were something." She drawled, her tears finally abating as a wide smile stretched across her face.

"Oh? What's that?" Anakin said, genuinely confused. Tahiri imagined he did not remember the day of his 'death' particularly well, so she decided to forgive him for forgetting.

"Dummy." she said again, leaned forward, and kissed him.

The galaxy fell away. It felt to Tahiri like they were the only two in the universe. The Force bond between them, something Tahiri had not felt since the mission to Myrkr, surged open. She felt all the pain, confusion, and determination Anakin had felt since waking from what he had assumed would be his death. She saw his efforts to help the other prisoners, his deal with his captors, his resistance to the shaping. She understood his slow, reluctant retreat into his own mind; the creation of the space in the Force she had found him in. She saw his attempts to speak with Shaahol Rapuung, felt his despair that he could not regain his body. His struggles, his failures, everything was laid bare before her, just as she knew she was similarly bare to him.

Her heart sang. For the first time since Anakin's 'death,' she felt whole. The gaping wound in her soul that she had spent so long trying to close was filled in an instant. She finally felt right again.

She felt happiness from Anakin. She could feel his doubts, who he was now, what he had missed, how to make his disappearance up to his loved ones, melt away. In the here and now, they were Anakin and Tahiri. Together again. And it was good.

The kiss broke. The pair of Jedi felt their beings slowly extract themselves from one another, returning to their individual selves. Tahiri opened her eyes and gazed into Anakin's. He smiled at her; the gentle, cocky smile she remembered.

"Well," Anakin said, "I'm back."


End file.
